Usha Sharma – Madrid, Spain
The Europe launch of Brand India Pharma Campaign was recently held at CPhI worldwide 2012 at Feria de Madrid, Spain. The three-day event by Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) saw a huge number of visitors and exhibitors from across the world. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India has initiated the Brand India Pharma Campaign to position India as ‘pharmacy of the world.’ The Europe launch of Brand India Pharma Campaign follows the launch at CPhI Japan, this March 21-23, 2012 and CPhI South East Asian in May.
The India Pavilion was inaugurated by lighting the lamp by S R Rao, Commerce Secretary, Ministry for Commerce and Industry, Government of India; Rajeev Kher, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; J S Deepak, Additional Secretary Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Sunil Lal, Ambassador of India to Spain and N R Munjal, Chairman, Pharmexcil.
Lal said, “Given the huge size of India, it enables us to remain profitable and at the same time promote inclusive growth. It is a known fact that India is able to produce quality medicines at a very low cost. In other words, the more you buy from India, the less you spend.”
Rao mentioned, “The Government of India has supported the ‘Brand India Pharma Campaign’ to reiterate that Indian pharma market is known for its credible, affordable and sustainable healthcare. It is meant to raise an awareness of the success stories in the Indian pharma industry.”
On the second day, Pharmexcil organised a business seminar on ‘Generics from India: Quality and Affordability.’ This seminar, which saw huge participation, began with opening remarks by Lal. He revealed details of the fast track approval process in Spain. Rao gave the keynote address and mentioned that today 50 per cent of the patients get medicines from India.
“The Indian pharma market has registered a CAGR of 15 per cent over the past five years and it is a matter of pride that over 70 per cent of patients in 87 countries get ARVs from India. As the generic segment gains more traction, there is more competition and at the same time makes it a low-margin business. There is a need to develop competencies that will drive the growth of the Indian pharma market beyond 2013,” added Rao.
Dr S Eswara Reddy, Deputy Drugs Controller (lndia), CDSCO, explained how the regulatory system works in the Indian pharma industry. Realising that there have been many improvements in the overall quality of the products in the Indian pharma market over the past few years, there is a strong need to convey these changes to the global audience. Reddy also made a presentation where he spoke on the regulatory framework of India in the pharma sector. While concluding the first part of the session, Munjal emphasised, “There is a need to maintain a balance between profitability and to heal the global ailing human society.”
In continuation to the above agenda, panel discussions followed later in the session. Key dignitaries from the Indian pharma industry who shared the dias were Dr Y K Hamied, Chairman and Managing Director, Cipla; Dr B Hari Babu, Acting CEO and Executive Director, Mylan Laboratories; Ajit Singh, Chairman, ACG Worldwide; Anuj Reddy, Vice President Business Development, Wockhardt and Brian Tambi, Former CEO, Morton Grove Pharmaceutical. The panel discussion was moderated by Venkat Jasti, Past Chairman, Pharmexcil.
The opening remarks of the panel discussion started by Rajeev Kher, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce. He shared the initiatives been formulated by the Government for the Indian pharma industry. “With the Government of India contemplating to institutionalise production in the Indian pharma sector, recognising that tier-II (mid-sized) and tier-III (small-sized) markets, generic companies are operating on lower margins and require government funding. Institutionalising a programme will aim at tying up access to the new export markets,” said Kher, adding that the track and trace mechanism developed by the Indian Government for the Indian pharma industry will further improve the perception about the quality of Indian product. “92 per cent of the total drugs used in the treatment of HIV are from India, which shows the strong position of the country. If the Indian pharma industry is in confidence, we will surpass the Government target of $25 billion pharma exports by 2015,” said Hamied.
Largely agreeing to the points made by the panel so far, Babu stressed on the fact that there is a need to promote that India has a capability to produce the best quality medicines across the globe.
“The industry needs to support the government in a big way to make the track and trace system a successful proposition for the industry,” said Singh. The day ended with an Indian cultural programme organised by Pharmexcil.
Raghuveer Kini, Executive Director, Pharmexcil said, “We have received better response in the Buyer Seller meeting at CPhI Worldwide 2012. This year we have managed to conclude around 100 meetings on a positive note. Around 65 exhibitors participated through Pharmexcil’s India Pavilion this year.”
Kini added, “As a part of the Brand India Pharma Campaign led by Pharmexcil and initiated by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India, top officials from the Ministry have graced the global pharma event, CPhI Worldwide. They also interacted with the Indian exhibitors participating outside the India Pavilion during the three-day event. The support from the Indian government officials have been very well appreciated by all the Indian participants. We thank the Commerce Secretary, Additional Secretaries, the entire Indian pharma industry and all the participants for the success of this event.”